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Perhapablog

Monday, May 30, 2011

enjoy a parade, salute the flag, remember those who served and sacrificed for our country.enjoy your family, enjoy your friends, treasure what you have and your freedom to have it.

remember absent friends and loved ones.

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anatomy of a one-sheet

marking the progress of our exclusive HAPS HEROESCON One-Sheet 2011, here is the final inked version of the piece that i call "the black and white". craig sent this over to colorist supreme, mike thomas, who is a master at bringing things to life and making our haps pop off the page! (personally, i think he's got his hands full with this one; the raleigh sewer creature is gonna be a bitch to color. can't wait to see what he does with it...)

come and see the finished print here on the blog on wednesday......or up close and in person this friday, saturday, and sunday at the HEROESCON in beautiful Charlotte NC~!

Friday, May 27, 2011

first and most importantly--SINNERS and SAINTS by rich woodall and jason copland part 3 is now up at TALES FROM THE PERHAPS~! (see the button above...)i think you'll agree, these guys did a fantastic job with this, our first tales story, and each new page builds the suspense!

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well, i've been going for years, but i'm so excited about going to HEROESCON next week that it feels like the first time!craig and i will be there with all our perhapanauts junk--as will matt and suzanne with the RINGO SCHOLARSHIP--as will many of our other friends and haps fans and, of course, i couldn't stop craig from doing one of our now-required PERHAPANAUTS ONE-SHEETS. in the past we had only really done these for fun, but somewhere along the way, craig had the idea to make the one-sheets convention specific, exclusive and tagged for the show. that also gave us the idea for each print to feature the haps battling a cryptid or strange anomaly native to that region or area of the country. which is why last year we spotlighted the goatman in baltimore, the loveland frog creatures in ohio, the ingot in seattle, the dover demon in boston...and now the bizarre blob-like life-form that is growing in the sewers below raleigh north carolina!more on this next week as we ramp up to go to the show, but here are a couple photos of craig's progress as the piece--as well as the creature--came to life~!

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"five for friday"chain reaction edition!

for those of you who have never seen game show network's chain reaction, the object is quite simple. you get a word to start out with, as well as the word to end on, and the first letter of the next word to help you build a chain of words or phrases that go with one another. for example, if you were given the following start points...

deepfcsdressing

...you could deduce that deep is followed by fried is followed by chicken and so on...

Wednesday, May 25, 2011

long-absent from the comments section--but not from our hearts--i got a chance to catch up with our good pal, nic carcieri the other day and was asking him what he'd been up to.what he'd been up to was quite a bit as nic just recently finished a short film that he did in conjunction with the south county hospital and the narragansett fire department in rhode island. the piece is a psa directed at teens dramatically illustrating the results of drinking and driving. he's presented the film at local high schools and movie theaters to great response and earlier this month posted it to youtube.

it's a powerful piece, driving home the terrible consequences of drunk driving and outlining the irrefutable fact that being responsible starts before you take that first drink. check it out for yourself.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVg6WRcmU9A&feature=share

great job, nic~!how many of us can say that we did something like this that actually saved lives...?

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in a week and a half craig and i will be at HEROESCON in Charlotte NC--JUNE 3-5!! we'll have all the cool perhapanauts shwag that the airlines will let us bring and a brand new exclusive heroescon one-sheet featuring a local cryptid that got a lot of ink a few years back~! a preview of this cool and colorful print will be posted here next monday and wednesday!! don't miss it! hope to see you at the show!!

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and here are a couple of images i grabbed from here and there and thought were funny.

Monday, May 23, 2011

so, have ya seen the new looney tunes show on cartoon network? featuring bugs and daffy as roommates that always seem to be getting into one kind of trouble or another? where other familiar faces from the vast roster of colorful characters are dropped in and find themselves in the roles of waiter or teacher or prisoner? where the stories take them on wild adventures and occasionally give us long-time merrie melodies maniacs a sly wink with a quick reference to one of the classics?

no?

you should?

sure, they're updated versions of some of our absolute favorite characters--the boys carry cell phones, listen to their ipods--but they are, underneath it all, the wonderful characters we know and love! the spirit of those vibrant characters comes through in every frame and it is a testament to the stewards of this legacy--the producers and directors of the new loony tunes show--that they have lovingly, and with all honor and respect, brought the gang to the 21st century intact and with all their funny bones still in the right places!

i know that there are detractors out there, deriding the efforts of these people, but here's the thing--kids are loving it! they laugh and listen and can't wait for the next episode! craig tells me that my 4 year old goddaughter is singing the silly little raps they do on the show around the house! this is their looney tunes--these are the shows they'll be remembering 20 years from now!

so check 'em out--and don't be a curmudgeon...

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and speaking of looney tunes, my friend terry has one of these banks--and another one featuring bugs--that i love!circa 1946 or 7, these go for a couple hundred dollars each on ebay. i'm trying to subdue my collector mentality so i'm just gonna be happy looking at the picture...

on the other side of the cartoon classics coin; i was at my dad's house the other day as he was watching the stock market reports on cnbc--which he does all the time--and one of the talking heads there had this awesome-looking angry mickey mouse on his desk and i perked up. dad got excited thinking i was finally interested about something relating to the real world of finance, but i just said, "look at that cool mickey mouse!" dad just shook his head and sighed...

apparently, this mad mickey figure is also part of a set. he is available as an action figure along with filipino boxer and politician, manny pacquiao! i cannot, in all my wild imaginings, figure out how manny and his people got the disney corporation to agree to license the little guy for something like this, but i dig it! these too are selling for some big money, but again...here's a nice picture...

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

well, one thing that makes something a success in the comic book world these days is consistency. if you're trying to publish an independent comic book or magazine in this crazy market, it's good to make sure that it comes out on a regular basis and comes out when you say it's gonna come out.oh, and it should be good. : )

the 6th issue of First Class Comic Reviewis that--GOOD!my two pals, Ellie and Lily Egleton, have, once again, put together a fantastic review of all the cool stuff out there for the all-ages set, with interviews, checklists, editorials, the big debate!, and so much more! this volume featuring a cover by their friends, Beth Vince and Kieran Pereira, you can find FCCR all of the finer comics shoppes and through their website at http://www.firstclasscomicreview.moonfruit.com/

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with the launch of our new "TALES FROM THE PERHAPS" feature last friday, premiering the first part of our first tale, "Saints and Sinners" by rich and jason, i've received a pantload of emails and facebook messages from artists and writers alike, eager to get involved and get started!! once again, this opportunity is open to EVERYONE!!--the specs for the stories are listed below and the doors are wide open~! have fun! get silly! be creative!

also, though we already have a few tales "in the can", the "tales" will be put in the queue to be posted as they come in...complete. we cannot hold a place or wait while the last panel is being inked or colored or lettered. a new page of "Tales From The Perhaps" will be posted every friday.

TALES FROM THE PERHAPS:these are our version of what if? or elseworlds stories featuring, of course, members of the perhapanauts cast and crew. these tales should feature alternate reality versions of our characters, not the characters themselves. por exemplo; put them in different time periods, different worlds, different story genres. a western, a horror movie, a space opera. these stories should be from four (4) to 10 (ten) pages--no more than 10--and should be a complete story (beginning, middle, and end). writers; we can't guarantee that we can find you an artist, so if you know someone, partner up! artists; if you're interested in having some fun with a perhapanauts story and are eager to add to your growing portfolio, let us know and we'll team you up with a talented writer!note: since these tales take more effort and commitment from all involved, we ask that you run your premise by us before diving full in. we wouldn't want everyone writing and drawing the same western for example...

STRANGE TALES FROM THE PERHAPS:these tales are a lot looser and wackier. the sky's the limit and the weirder, the better! these are our versions of the bizarro comics and the strange tales stories and can be 1 (one), 2 (too), 3 (three), four (4), or 6 pages long (six). they should be fun or silly or bizarre and, once again, be wonky versions of our characters doing...well, whatever you can think of. as these tales are meant to be looser and wilder, don't run them by us first, just send them in. we can't wait!

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and here, ready to make a guest appearance in your nightmares, is this horrible thing that rich sent me the other day (to cheer me up...!) they call it a bear-spider, but i think it's more of a spider-bear...right? (you put the name of the creature that's been..."augmented" on the end. sharktopus. spider-man. attorney. get it? plus, "spider-bear" just rolls of the tongue easier...) whatever, we decided we would rather not run into one of these things in the woods anytime soon...

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

maybe i don't say it enough, but this blog is really YOUR blog, a forum for YOU to talk as well, about weird, crazy, creepy things, about the strange and the unexplained, about comics and tv and movies and whatever...! i encourage you--nay! beg of you--to feel free, at any time, to contribute your own guest blog, to use this perhapa-blog as your own soapbox, your own place to bring up matters for discussion or to explore your journalistic tendencies!

that said, i recently went back to review some old blog entires (looking for a bit of information for a possible story) and came across this wonderfully unsettling post from our pal warren newsom a year or so back and though, "man--i oughta put that up again."so here it is...

SLENDER MAN

When I was young, I went to a rural North Carolina elementary school that set far off the main road on a back road that turned from asphalt to red dirt just past the school. Piney woods surrounded the school with old growth hardwoods taking over the deeper you went into them. At recess, all of us boys and girls would run past the playgrounds straight for the woods.

This was the early 60’s. I was in third grade and my teacher didn’t seem to think twice about letting a bunch of children go unattended to play in the woods. We’d climb on low branches, build forts out of fallen limbs, or just find a good shade tree to sit under to cool off. After all, it was a rural school full of farmers’ and mill hands’ children – salt of the earth type people who inhabited a safe community where everyone knew everyone else. We – adults and children alike – were used to unlocked doors and kids running free through forest and field.

That changed suddenly one day in the early winter.

It was almost Christmas and us third-graders were buzzing in anticipation of two weeks off and Santa Claus. The weather was mild, as it has almost always been here in December (I don’t remember ever having a “white Christmas” – usually, it’s sunny and clear around here) but there was still enough of a chilling breeze to keep most of us kids close to the school building when we went out to play. Even so, there were a few who were willing to brave a biting breeze to go out into the woods.

On this particular day, as we all filed back into our classroom after recess, we noticed one chair was empty. It belonged to a girl named Marie. We students noticed her absence before the teacher did, but it didn’t take long for Mrs. Taylor to miss her also. But before we could all react and wonder where she could be, we heard sobbing and shuffling feet out in the hallway.

Marie came shambling into the room, her sweater picked with holes and her face, arms, and legs scratched and bleeding. Tears had left red chapped streaks on her cheeks. She didn’t wait for someone to ask her, she simply volunteered:

“Something was watching me in the woods. Something was following me.”

After that, we were restricted to the playground at recess, and that was still the school policy through my remaining years there.

It’s always haunted me: Exactly what frightened Marie so badly in the woods that day?

Probably everyone who has ever played in the woods as a child – or in a cornfield, or sandlot, or anywhere else outside of the safe surroundings of your parents’ home – has felt that sensation. That something was watching you. That something just on the periphery of your vision – or maybe on the periphery of reality – was stalking you, always within a step of catching you. You know it’s there, but you dare not turn around to look, because then it will get you…

That creepy thing that waits among the bare winter trees or down the alley beside the vacant building near your apartment now has a name: The Slender Man.

I was first introduced to the Slender Man by my son, a teacher of writing and communication. We were chatting on AIM in the wee hours one night when he sent me a link to some of the material he had covered in his class concerning interactive fiction creation on the internet. One of the examples he used was the Slender Man. I’d never heard of it. When I asked him about it, he sent me a few links about, after which he said, “I hate looking at this stuff this late at night.”

The myth began on the forums of the Something Awful website, in a thread devoted to the creation of fake paranormal images. (Here is the link if you wish to go look at the original thread. http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3150591&userid=0&perpage=40&pagenumber=3#post361861415 )

Most of the doctored photos were obvious, far too fake to be the least bit scary, but there were a pair of photos that got it just right: Innocent children. Captions that hinted at a fatal catastrophe. And there, lurking menacingly in the background, a figure that you almost – almost – overlook.

And the myth of the Slender Man was born. A faceless figure in a black suit with – wait… are those… tentacles? Extra arms? What are they…?

Prophetically, the post immediately following the original photos in that thread contained this statement: “You just know a couple of the good ones are going to eventually make it to paranormal websites and be used as genuine.”

Which is exactly what happened.

The result is the birth of not one, but two phenomena – the creation and promotion of a collective fictional creation, and the belief in that fictional creation as real. References to the Slender Man can be found all over internet forums and websites with many people claiming that he’s real, explaining him as some sort of psychic/physical manifestation of our primal fears. He has his own entry in the Mythical Creatures Guide.

http://www.mythicalcreaturesguide.com/page/Slender+Man

And there is a blog dedicated to the investigation of the Slender Man “phenomenon”.

http://slendermanchronicles.blogspot.com/2009_08_01_archive.html

Maybe the most famous Slender Man-related material is the movie, “Marble Hornets,” posted in installments on You Tube. It’s a creepy little amateur film that reminds me of Blair Witch and Paranormal Activity, yet is somehow both cooler and scarier than either of those (though maybe that’s because I watched it alone in my living room at 3:00 am). The movie purports to be the raw footage shot during the making of a student film a few years ago. The student making the film seems to slowly lose his mind as a mysterious being keeps showing up in the backgrounds of his shots.

So, a new monster has come along to stoke our nightmares, one that may be entirely made up or maybe not. As the author of the Slender Man Chronicles blog says:

Friday, May 13, 2011

though we had an unforeseen delay with blogger this morning, kieran was finally able to get through and launch the all-new-all-cool "TALES FROM THE PERHAPS" a few short minutes ago and the first page of rich woodall and jason copland's "SAINTS and SINNERS" is now up!!

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

when i posted the news yesterday about the debut this friday of the all-new, all-cool tales TALES FROM THE PERHAPS, i had also wanted to include the logo(s) for the new feature but, uh...well, craig and i hadn't yet decided on a winner yet...

but we got it figured out yesterday afternoon and here they be~!

pretty, huh?i like 'em.

the other thing i wanted to post were the story specs. if, for any reason, you should find yourself with some free time on your hands and decide you wanted to write and/or draw one of these tales, you'll have some idea as to the format we would need. here they are:

TALES FROM THE PERHAPS:these are our version of what if? or elseworlds stories featuring, of course, members of the perhapanauts cast and crew. these tales should feature alternate reality versions of our characters, not the characters themselves. por exemplo; put them in different time periods, different worlds, different story genres. a western, a horror movie, a space opera. these stories should be from four (4) to 10 (ten) pages--no more than 10--and should be a complete story (beginning, middle, and end). writers; we can't guarantee that we can find you an artist, so if you know someone, partner up! artists; if you're interested in having some fun with a perhapanauts story and are eager to add to your growing portfolio, let us know and we'll team you up with a talented writer!note: since these tales take more effort and commitment from all involved, we ask that you run your premise by us before diving full in. we wouldn't want everyone writing and drawing the same western for example...

STRANGE TALES FROM THE PERHAPS:these tales are a lot looser and wackier. the sky's the limit and the weirder, the better! these are our versions of the bizarro comics and the strange tales stories and can be 1 (one), 2 (too), 3 (three), four (4), or 6 pages long (six). they should be fun or silly or bizarre and, once again, be wonky versions of our characters doing...well, whatever you can think of. as these tales are meant to be looser and wilder, don't run them by us first, just send them in. we can't wait!

NOTE: craig and i have NO MONEY. did you hear that? there are zero dollars here. while we would love to be able to pay everyone for any work they might put into these stories, that is just not a reality. we are broke. any stories that you do need to come from: a.) your love for the characters and/or a desire to tell a story, 2.) a desire to gain some (fun!) semi-professional experience as a writer or artist, ~!.) you had nothing better to do, or, §.) a combination of any or all of the above.

also any stories submitted become the property of plays well with otters. they have to. we can't do it any other way.

should you have any further questions about any of this, please 'e' me at todd@perhapanauts.com and we'll getcha on your way!

BE HERE on friday for the debut of TALES FROM THE PERHAPS! featuring the first installment of the awesome "Saints and Sinners" by Rich Woodall and Jason Copland!

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

so i had an excellent free comic book day, hanging out with my pals, fred hembeck, bruce conklin, jd lewis, mike giacoia, john and devon! nice to get to just mind the store and talk about comics~! and movies~! and tv~! and everything!

i also had an awesome weekend 'cause i got an AMAZING package of character designs and whatnot for the online Motion Comics Steampunk Adventure I'm writing from BRET BLEVINS and, i can tell you, they are FANTASTIC!!! i will share them with you as soon as i'm given the okay, but looking at these--if simply for the art alone--this project is gonna be special!! i was like a kid at christmas when they came through and i am still over the moon about them...!

so with alla that going on--and mother's day!--i guess i needed an extra day to recuperate. sorry.

ANNOUNCEMENT!!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

craig and i have been nurturing this and sitting on it for quite a while now, waiting for the new page to be put in place and for the projects to be done and for the time to be just right...so here, finally, it is...

starting this friday, there will be a new tab at the top of your PERHAPANAUTS page, leading you to the all-new, all-cool "TALES FROM THE PERHAPS!" feature, a webcomic (of sorts) with perhapanauts tales from deep inside the perhaps, that vortex of space and time that is the confluence of all reality! these are the else-wheres and the if-worlds where anything can happen...! and it does!! with stories by many of our friends and 'family', our first tale is written by rich woodall and illustrated by jason copland and you WON'T want to MISS IT!!

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and speaking of strange...

as an avid and life-long comic book fan, there is nothing i like more than a little parody and satire. i sat with fred on saturday and found myself describing to a young fan--and his mother--what exactly fred does and how important his reviews and commentaries were to me as a kid! what comedic genius to draw yourself into a comic strip and then interview your favorite superheroes--and villains!--on what all they've been up to and what is currently going on in their respective adventures!

with that in mind--and the advent of the above-mentioned 'TALES FROM THE PERHAPS!'--craig and i were talking about opening up the field for an added feature called 'STRANGE Tales From The Perhaps!', where writers and artists could have fun with our colorful cuddly cryptids in the same way that they did in dc's bizarro comics and marvel's strange tales! you did read those, didn't you? silly little stories that put all of the classic dc and marvel characters in the most exciting--or most mundane--situations that you just don't see in the mainstream stories! wonder woman and her friends go shopping for bathing suits! modok chooses a wife! superman and batman become the next lennon and mccartney!...

strange, silly, bizarre, weird, wacky, wonky, and out-of-this-world are just a handful of some of my favorite words...

...but also what we're looking for from YOU!! ...and you! ...and you! ...and you!got a way-out crazy idea for a totally wild perhapanauts story--? do it! we're looking for the wildest, strangest stuff you can think of and we'll post it and most likely publish it when we get enough to take on the road!can't spell? doesn't matter! can't draw? doesn't matter! have fun and get silly--the skies the limit and we can't wait to see what you might do!come on! get your strange on!it's gonna be fun!

Friday, May 06, 2011

i am going to start this post out the same way i'm going to finish it; with the october country logo and a reminder that i will be at wonderful october country comics

in beautiful new paltz ny tomorrow from 1 to 3, hanging out, chatting, and signing comics with my good friend and comics legend, the lovely and talented writer/artist FRED HEMBECK for...

free comic book day is a world-wide phenomenon that has been going on now for about 9 years now and endeavors to promote comic book reading as well as introduce a wider audience to this unique and creative artform. comics are fun; read some everyday!(although, after nine years, maybe it's time we got a snazzier logo, huh...?)

fred hembeck is a legendary cartoonist and satirist, a champion volleyballer and he has a tremendous singing voice. best known for his enormous love of comics and his fantastic parodies, fred is responsible for such romps as fred hembeck destroys the marvel universe and the fantastic four roast, as well as his own clever and insightful interviews with a pantheon of four-color characters in his own dateline:hembeck, abbot and costello meet hembeck, bah, hembeck!, and the hembeck files!fred is awesome!

Wednesday, May 04, 2011

here we are with part 2 of our boston comic con coverage as the parade of stunning superheroes continues...

catwoman

mr. t

black canary and green arrow

psylocke

and finally, a few pirates of the caribbean!

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that said, the coolest thing about the boston show for me was getting to see and hang out with friends and fellow comic book lovers! i've said it many times before, but i love a show that is primarily comic book-centric; conventions like heroescon in charlotte, the baltimore comic con, and this one, where the focus remains on these four-color funnybooks that are the doorways to countless worlds of imagination! sure, san diego and the new york show are fun, but let's face it, they are more about hollywood and videogames than they are about comics anymore, right?

craig and i got to spend some quality time hanging out with our own brian mulcahy, rich woodall, our good pal, thom (love and capes) zahler, and baltimore con owner and organizer, marc nathan on saturday night, enjoying a nice dinner and then some drinks.

though i didn't get a chance to hang and talk with him all that much, it was great to see awesome perhapanauts colorist, mike thomas, on sunday, along with his son--and flatter!!--nate. we love the job mike is doing and can't wait for you to see his hues on the next story arc!

wanting to get a picture of (most of) the current perhapanauts team, i asked nate if he would take a picture of rich, craig, me and mike together...i don't know how the johnny got in there--he just appeared as the flash went off, eager to be in the picture. funny!

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and, if i may, please let me remind you that i will be hanging out at the OCTOBER COUNTRY in beautiful downtown new paltz new york with my pal, the legendary FRED HEMBECK this saturday for FREE COMIC BOOK DAY!! if you're in the area, why not stop by and see us--and pick up a free comic book or two!

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

what a great weekend~!we had a fantastic time at the boston comic con and there is much to tell! saw lots of friends, met a lot of long-time perhapanauts readers and, hopefully, made a few more! craig and i were amazed at how fast the perhapanauts trades--dark days and triangle--were flying off the tables! and i met a bunch of super hero squad fans as well!

it was a really fun show--and i had a wonderful time back home with craig and trish and the kids--and i will report a bit more on alla that tomorrow. but here are the pics i know you're waiting for...the costumes...!enjoy and i'll catch up with you with more tomorrow morning!

poison ivy and scarecrow

this very colorful couple; big barda and mister miracle

catwoman

spoiler: this is spoiler

my apologies to this lovely donna troy. i should have checked the picture closely and asked to take another shot. it wasn't til later that i realized that her eyes were closed and, sadly, this photo didn't pick up the sparkling material that she used to replicate troia's starry costume.

deadpool

this guy WAS sinestro. he strode around the con with the posture and arrogant nose-in-the-air attitude that made everyone look...and take a step back. he was both impressive and intimidating...until you asked him for a picture. then he was like, "oh, yeah, man, sure!" perfect costume on the perfect guy for the part.

batman and his bat-brood

wonder woman

zatanna and the question

another perfect guy with the perfect costume--everyone loved this impressive mr. incredible...